Yami no Kagami, Hikari no Kamen
by WallofIllusion
Summary: Mirror of Darkness, Mask of Light. Bakura and Ryou have a few little chats about power. Nonshounenai. Shortly after duelist kingdom.
1. Yami no Kagami

**I**. Yami no Kagami: Mirror of Darkness

It was a new moon, so no light shone through the bedroom window of Ryou Bakura at 12:01 A.M. that night. Yet Ryou was suddenly, inexplicably, very much awake.

He lay in bed for a moment, wondering what had woken him—a sound, perhaps, or a sudden movement in his sleep? But he quickly dismissed both options. Such small disturbances rarely bothered him lately—for the past couple of months, he had slept like the dead every night.

No, it had not been something from outside of Ryou that had woken him. Could it have been…?

Ryou reached inside his nightshirt and pulled out his Millennium Ring. His stomach clenched as he saw that the artifact was glowing, and he braced himself.

Sure enough, a tingling, numbing sensation filled Ryou's body. Trembling, Ryou tried to pull the Ring off, but his brain's command never reached his hands. They were the numbest of all, and the feeling was quickly spreading up his arms. His vision began to cloud and he felt the darkness of unconsciousness beckon to him.

"NO!" he attempted to shout, but it left his throat as a feeble whisper. He could no longer feel any part of his body. It was as though he was a single pair of eyes—with rapidly fading vision. But he continued to fight the deadening sensation, trying with all his might to just lift a finger, anything to shake off the feeling that enveloped him…

Yadonushi, how many times do I have to tell you that fighting me will only hurt you?the cold voice of Ryou's other self asked nonchalantly.

/I… won't… l-let you take over…/ Ryou gathered enough strength to clench his fist, but as he did, a sharp pain shot up his arm, causing him to flinch inwardly and release his grip again.

You _will_ give me control, yadonushi. Or you will get very, very hurt.

/You have no power over me…/

The spirit's cruel laughter flooded Ryou's mind. You are a fool, yadonushi.

Suddenly, Ryou's vision cleared, although the tingling numbness of his other's control remained. He found himself leaving the room, stopping only briefly to pick up a small round object. After walking into the bathroom, Ryou's yami turned the boy's eyes towards the mirror. Look.Ryou saw himself reflected back. Except, he didn't look like himself. The heavily shadowed reflection looked sinister and threatening. Only his eyes stood out, seeming to glow.

It was exactly how he had imagined his other self must look.

Ryou's yami forced their shared mouth into a smirk. You are the one with no power,the dark spirit said quietly. I can make you do anything I want. I can hide those things from you, or I can make you watch. I can help you… or hurt you.

Ryou had not yet given up on breaking his other's control. He tried desperately to raise his arm, hoping to turn on the light and eradicate the menacing shadows surrounding him. But as much as he strived to, he could not make his arm acknowledge his command.

Giving a slight snort, the yami raised Ryou's arm and flicked the light on. Give up, yadonushi.He then lowered their eyes to the object he had picked up.

Ryou started as he saw the item. It was a golden ball that bore a raised Eye of Horus: the Eye of Horus that his own Millennium Ring and Yuugi's Millennium Puzzle both shared… the Eye of Horus that also graced the Millennium Eye, which belonged to Pegasus.

/This isn't… this… this can't be…/

It is,Ryou's other said, his mind-voice filled with glee. The Millennium Eye belongs to us now, yadonushi. You should be happy. Think of all the power we have.

/You stole it!/ Ryou exclaimed in horror.

Ye-es,his other replied. I'm a thief. It's what I do.

The yami looked at the glittering Item in Ryou's hand meditatively for what seemed like an incredibly long time. Then, to Ryou's terror, he slowly lifted it to their left eye and pressed slightly.

/NO!/ Ryou thought desperately, realizing that his yami was trying to force the Millennium Eye into his face. /No! You can't! You—you wouldn't—!/ His other self didn't reply; instead he continued to push the golden Eye against Ryou's socket. /Please… d-don't…/

Ryou noticed then that his body, though still numb and under the control of his yami, was trembling. Was it possible that his other self was afraid?

His eye began to hurt. Multicolored dots from the applied pressure crowded both eyes, making it impossible to see. Again he felt the inviting blackness of unconsciousness, and this time he almost gave in—

But then the pressure on his eye disappeared. His yami had dropped the Millennium Eye… by mistake, or on purpose? As Ryou's vision returned, he found that he was staring down at the Eye. He could feel resentment radiating from his other self. His mouth was curled into a scowl. Consider yourself lucky, yadonushi,the dark spirit's voice said, and Ryou was plunged into oblivion.

Ryou woke unwillingly the next morning. He stayed with his eyes closed for a minute. Then he realized that one eye hurt.

Suddenly, he remembered what his dark side had tried to do during the night. He lifted a shaking hand up to his left eye and felt it—skin. Cautiously, he opened his eyes—sight through both of them. His yami had decided against installing the Millennium Eye. Thank goodness.

But, judging by the fact that his left eye still hurt quite a bit, the dark spirit had not made that decision immediately after taking full control. He had instead persisted in trying to force the Eye into Ryou's socket.

But he had not done so, and that was all that mattered.

Ryou sat up in bed and sighed. Despite what he tried to tell the dark spirit last night, he knew full well that he had no control over his yami. If his other had decided to put in the Millennium Eye, Ryou would have a magical golden object embedded in his socket. Ryou had grown somewhat used to this, though it didn't keep him from fighting back. What he was really fearful of was himself. He had become afraid to look in mirrors lately—he was always scared that he would see his dark self staring back at him, like he had the night before.

And he had changed, too, because of his possession by the spirit. Ryou found himself lying more often, sometimes for no reason at all. And the yami's role as a thief was reflecting in Ryou as well—only a few days ago, he had been tempted to steal a Monster World figurine from a store, simply because he hadn't wanted to pay for it.

These dishonesties had not been part of Ryou before he received the Millennium Ring, before he met the dark being that so often stole control of his body. He had picked them up from his yami. Ryou was becoming like the spirit he hated.

And he was terrified that he would be able to see that in a mirror, his own reflection shrouded in gloom, his expression mimicking the hate he always felt from his other self. A mirror of darkness, reflecting his shadowed—and often overshadowed—soul of light. Showing that no matter how much he tried to fight it, he was becoming his yami.


	2. Hikari no Kamen

**II.** Hikari no Kamen: Mask of Light

"Good morning, Bakura-kun!" Yuugi's voice rang out through the classroom. Ryou's head snapped up from his book as his classmate neared his desk.

"Good morning," he replied.

"Ready for the math test?"

"I hope so." Ryou showed Yuugi the book he was reading—his math textbook.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Bakura-kun. Your grades are always so good," Yuugi said enviously.

Ryou shrugged, feeling the cold metal of his Millennium Ring brush against his skin as he did so. "I didn't get so much sleep last night."

"Why not?"

Ryou shrugged again. "I don't know. I guess I'm just restless."

"Yeah," Yuugi said. "Isn't it weird being back home after being at Duelist Kingdom? So much happened there."

"Yeah," Ryou agreed.

Just then, Jonouchi entered the classroom. "Yo!" he said to the world at large as he flung open the door. As intended, he got everyone's attention, including Ryou's. The white-haired boy swiveled his eyes towards the entrance. As he did so, a sharp pain shot through his left eye. Giving a faint moan, he massaged the sore skin surrounding it.

"Is something wrong, Bakura?" Jonouchi asked as he sat down on top of his desk, which was right next to Ryou's.

"Ah—my eye just hurts," Ryou replied, dropping his hand immediately.

"Oh, yeah, I noticed it was a little red," Yuugi commented. "It's not infected or anything, is it?"

"No, it's just sore," Ryou said nervously. "Please don't worry about me." He hoped this would deter Yuugi from asking more questions. It didn't.

"Why is it sore?" Yuugi continued. "Did you hurt it?"

"I…" Ryou faked a smile and made up a story on the spot. "Heh… I ran into a doorknob." _A doorknob?!_

"A doorknob?" Jonouchi repeated skeptically. "That high from the ground?"

"I was crawling… in the dark."

"Awfully silly thing to do," said Anzu, entering the conversation.

"Yeah, well, now you tell me," joked Ryou. He continued chatting with his friends, letting the surface of his mind carry on their cheerful discussion. While he did, though, he cursed himself in the deeper part of his mind for lying again, putting on a light-hearted mask to hide his pain.

_But it's safer to lie,_ he argued to himself. _Then they won't think they're still in danger… And they won't be in danger. I can control him if I need to._

"Hey, Bakura-kun…" Yuugi said thoughtfully as the teacher entered and began passing out the math tests. "Wanna walk home together? Maybe we can play Monster World or something…"

Ryou hesitated. _But it's still wise to stay away from them. Just in case._ "Maybe some other time, Yuugi."

"Some other time" turned out to be the next day. Ryou reluctantly agreed to Yuugi's smiling invitation to walk home together, but claimed he had too much homework to play games. It was better not to tempt his other self.

The walk was fairly quiet for a while. Then, as they passed a figurine shop, Yuugi asked, "Hey, Bakura-kun? How's your eye? It looks worse today."

Ryou was not surprised. That morning, he had woken up in the bathroom, unaware of ever leaving his room during the night. When he had awoken, he was clutching the Millennium Eye in his hand. His own eye hurt worse than before. Looking in the mirror, he discovered that a crimson trail of dried blood ran from his left eye down to his chin. He desperately washed it off; rubbing near the bleeding eye was incredibly painful. His yami had obviously become more determined to install the Eye.

But Yuugi certainly didn't need to know that. "Yeah, it's getting a little bruised," Ryou said, wearing his usual fake smile. "I could always tell people I got in a fight."

Yuugi laughed. "I can't imagine you fighting, Bakura-kun!" he exclaimed. "Besides, who would want to hurt you?"

Ryou shrugged. _I can think of one person…_

"Seriously, you're so innocent and quiet, most of the time people don't even know you're there."

"Who says I'm innocent?" Ryou asked, willing Yuugi to believe he was joking.

"You _are_ innocent, Bakura-kun. You're the most innocent person I know. I don't know how you manage it, especially with your—" He stopped abruptly. "…Never mind."

_Especially with my yami,_ Ryou filled in Yuugi's train of thought as the two walked in silence. _Especially with him living inside of me, tainting me from the inside out._

Suddenly, Yuugi said, "Hey, Bakura-kun…?" Ryou looked at him questioningly. He seemed very uncomfortable; his face was red and he fiddled with his Millennium Puzzle.

"Do you… does… um… do you ever have problems with… with your other self anymore?"

Ryou's heart seemed to stop for a moment, then sped up. "Ah…" He tried not to let his fear show on his face. _I could tell him. Why shouldn't I? I should. I should stop hiding behind this stupid mask. _

_But what if he avoids me, then? To keep safe, like how I avoid others to keep them safe. What if he decides to do that? It's better not to tell him…._

"My other self? You mean the spirit in the Millennium Ring?" Yuugi nodded. "…N-no… I haven't had any trouble… I haven't… I haven't had any sign of his existence… for a long time. And… and even if I had, I… I promised not to let him control me, remember?"

Yuugi nodded again, but he continued to look nervous.

Ku ku ku…

Ryou tensed. /Go away./

That was an awfully silly promise to make, yadonushi. You shouldn't make promises you can't keep.

/Go away!/

Why should I?The dark spirit laughed. What if I do… this?

To his horror, Ryou felt a familiar tingling spread from his chest to his arms. /No!! Don't!/ Blindly, Ryou started to run towards his home. His yami's laughter echoed in his head.

"Bakura-kun…?" Yuugi's startled voice said.

"I… I have to get home right now!" Ryou cried desperately over his shoulder. He ran until he reached his apartment, the numb feeling gradually wearing away. But his yami continued to laugh as Ryou flung himself onto his bed in tears.

"Go away…" the white-haired boy sobbed. "Leave me alone…"

No. I will not.

Ryou reached into his school uniform and brought out the Millennium Ring. He thought about taking it off, ending the dark spirit's power to control him, but the instant he thought that, his arms went numb. Not a chance.

Ryou's other let go of the Ring and then relinquished control of his arms. Ryou used the returned control to wipe his eyes, careful not to rub the left too vigorously. All the same, the eye stung, and as he lowered his hand, he saw a smear of red blood across it. He shuddered and, with a shallow sigh, went into the bathroom to wash off his hand.

You're not helping yourself, you know.

Ryou pretended to ignore his other self.

That despicable façade you put on, like an angel. You're not like that.

Ryou turned on the water and ran his hand under it. The blood washed down the drain.

They can't really be your friends if they don't really know who you are.

Ryou turned off the water and dried his hand, still ignoring his yami.

You're only helping me.

At that, Ryou gasped and stiffened. Oh, did that get your attention?the spirit asked.

/Liar,/ Ryou accused, shaking.

You hide my continued existence from them,the dark spirit explained maliciously, making a surprise attack much easier. This lie you tell, this false face you wear… It's an _act_. And it helps me, not you. They'd never expect to be assaulted by "the most innocent person they know"…

/It's not an act. I'm not like you./

Ryou, Ryou…In his yami's sickeningly fawning voice, Ryou's name seemed like a curse. Do you lie even to yourself?

"I—don't—lie." Ryou spoke these words aloud, adding force to them.

He felt his other self retreat. Believe what you like, yadonushi. Continue to lie. Continue to wear a mask of light… you can't cover your darkness.


End file.
